Just Like You
by Obsidian Buterfly
Summary: In Outo, Fai could be mean and angry if he were ever inclined to act that way. Kurogane could be fake and stupid if he were ever inclined to act that way. But that's just not who they are. In Acid Tokyo, table are turned and one shows he always had the potential to be cold and ruthless, the other? Weak and senseless. (Rewritten)
1. The Fake The Angry

**_A/N: I finally got around to rewriting this thing. I rather like it a lot better now since I'm more familiar and comfortable writing their characters now than I was when I first wrote this story. I took a few liberties with Fai's life in Celes that are mentioned a couple of times here but apart from that, the stuff here strictly follows the manga. I hope you enjoy this version._**

**_The song used is 'Just Like You' by 'Three Days Grace' which in my opinion seems to have been written out just for these two. _**

**_Drop me a review and tell me what you think._**

_"I could be mean, I could be angry_

_You know I could be just like you..." _

Fai watched the man stomp all the way back from the city hall, a tiny smile playing about his lips as he thought back to the ninja's hilarious reaction to the names he had picked for them all. In hindsight, maybe it had not been fair of him to give such a ridiculous name to the man but really, could anyone blame him for wanting to do it? The ninja's reactions just made teasing him all the more attractive. Had he taken it all in stride, Fai might have relented to calling him by his real name by now. After all, he had never actually done something like this before in his life. Ever. There never really had been an opportunity for it back home where everything needed to be proper and courtly.

He had seen people interact with their friends in villages he was sent out to help every now and then and he had always wondered if he could ever be that way with someone. Ashura had always encouraged him to try and make some friends his own age instead of spending all his time with the Royal Librarian, the head of the Royal Guard or the Cook. He was allowed to do whatever he wanted at home but he had never truly felt like he… belonged there. The people treated him with love and respect and whispers of bad omens never followed him there but he never could convince himself to approach someone his own age.

"Kuro-sama, are you still mad?" the blond said in a sing song manner as he skipped after the man currently storming away from him in high dudgeon.

"'_Are you still mad?'_ he asked!" the man declared as he stomped on his merry way. He refused to pay any attention whatsoever to the magician following after him and for some reason, it irritated Fai. No. Irritated was not quite the right term. It… unnerved him. He had never done well with being ignored.

There had been that one time in Celes when he had learnt a new spell and gone off in search for Ashura-ou. The kind however had been engaged in some rather intense discussions with some of his advisors regarding the neighboring country's recently hostile behavior towards Celes and some possible strategies to avoid the upcoming war. The man had only given him a tiny nod of approval for mastering the spell before returning to the advisors and Fai had… Fai had run away thinking the king was fed up with him. Of course he had not really been able to get very far and search parties had been sent out to look for him and he had been found hiding in a tiny cave near the castle with some supplies stolen from the castle and some pastries from the kitchen. There had been a great deal of fussing over him by Ashura once he had been brought back suffering from hypothermia and the king had refused to leave his bedside in the infirmary until he had been discharged.

He had been hugged by the king and assured that Ashura was not irritated by Fai's presence and that he did care a lot about his well-being and would he please never try to give him such a big scare again?

Pulling himself out of memory lane, Fai decided that he had to do something about the ninja's current dismissive behavior of him. wondering if maybe the red-eyed man would react to him being in danger in the same manner as the king, Fai let out a startled yell.

Kurogane's reaction was instantaneous. The man whirled around, alarm clearly dancing across his features as he looked at Fai. "What is-" the man began, comprehension slowly dawning across his face as he realized Fai had just tricked him, his words of concern turned to those of anger near the end. "-IT?!"

A soft fluttering sensation sparked inside his chest as he discovered the man had been worried about him. Leaving his former life behind in Celes, Fai had seized the opportunity to be someone completely different from the person he had been back in that world. He finally decided to try and do what Ashura had asked him to do all along. He finally allowed himself to try and become their… what exactly was it that he was to these people? And what were they to him? Would friendship be an appropriate term to describe the relationship he had with his travelling companions?

"Yay!" he declared happily, "he turns around." Remembering the worry that had been etched in Kurogane's face just moments before, he allowed himself another grin, this one exposing some of the joy he felt on the inside but the ninja was too irritated to actually notice this slip of emotions as the former drew his sword with a growl.

"Stay still while I send you to the next world!" the man declared, lunging for Fai like an angry dog. Knowing that their game of cat and mouse and rather dog and cat was on, Fay cheerfully began to prance ahead of him. His joy was sadly not long-lasting for the sudden appearance of kiji in the street behind the oblivious ninja was a big damper on everything. Wondering if the man might fall for the same thing twice, Fai let out another startled cry as he stopped running and looked directly at the kiji now solidifying behind the warrior.

"Do you think I will fall for the same trick again?!" the man growled, refusing to turn around and look at the kiji swiping their claws towards his exposed back. Knowing there was no time to warn the man, Fai drew a few darts he had stashed in his coat pocket earlier in the day after he had installed a dart-set on one of the café walls. The look on Kurogane's face was priceless when the dart sailed through the air towards him, only to completely miss him and stroke their intended target right on the mark.

The warrior whirled around to witness the demons melting to the ground in a shapeless black goop as a tiny smirk appeared on Fai's lips.

"This time it's the real thing." Was all the blond said.

_"I could be fake, I could be stupid_

_You know I could be just like you..." _

"Don't just dodge them!" Kurogane half-yelled, half-screamed in frustration as he whirled around and sliced cleanly through the kiji before him. The idiot in his classic idiot mode, simply pranced around the road, weaving in and out of their attacks like it was all some sort of elaborate dance, "We need to attack them." Somehow during the time it took Kurogane to slice through the next batch of kiji, the blond had somehow made his way to the roof, plucking up a few of his darts that must have landed there when he had thrown them earlier. Doing as Kurogane had demanded, the man finally threw them at the big-ass kiji that had formed from all the smaller ones. There was no end to these demons was there?

Kurogane had been one of the best demon-slayers in all of Nihon. The court liked to gossip that he fought like a demon because he loved to bathe in their blood, but even they had to grudgingly admit that he had never lost a man to those monsters on when his team was on patrol. The problem with this world demons that made them rather difficult opponents despite their low level of strength was the fact that they had no aura. Kurogane had trained himself to sense their auras since early childhood but these creatures they… they were just a big fat nothing. Like empty space.

"The kiji just keep recovering after my attacks," the blond complained, "it's like they're made out of liquid!" he could tell the magician was being rather difficult on purpose. Had he chosen to really use his strength in this battle, it would have been over long ago but since the man had apparently promised never to use magic again, it was up to Kurogane to finish the job. As though, reading what had been going on inside his head, the mage continued with a rather sly grin, "Maybe I should just leave all this demon slaying business to a professional like you. Right," he paused and Kurogane _knew_ what was coming next even before the idiot opened his mouth to say it, "Big Doggie."

"You have no idea how much you piss me off with that name." he growled, dodging a swipe from the kiji at the same time.

"Really?" the man gleefully sang, "Kuro-tan, Kuro-chi, Kuro-pipi,…" on and on went his long list of ridiculous nicknames and Kurogane had to wonder if the man have ever gotten formal education on how to be annoying. "Which one do you like?" the blond asked amicably as he too dodged an attack and jumped a few paces back.

"I don't like any of them!" Kurogane declared, praying to the gods for some patience. This idiot was sure to give him an aneurism before the end of this journey if this stupidity kept up. Honestly was it so hard to be a little more serious? Especially in the face of such imminent danger. It was rather obvious the cheerful front he put on for the world was nothing more than a façade to fool the less observant but being observant was a pre-requisite of being a ninja. He knew that the blond did not like people catching him off guard or getting a glimpse of what lay underneath that fake foolish mask.

They both knew that Kurogane was not one to be deceived by these acts and that he knew something was up with the blond. And he knew he unnerved him. So whenever the blond thought Kurogane was close to cracking his mask, he would pull out an annoying, mangled version of his name and despite himself, Kurogane would not be able to keep his irritation at bay.

_"You thought you were sittin beside me_

_You were only in my way..._

_You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you..."_

"We should fight back." Kurogane suggested, keeping one eye on the mage and the other on their opponent. Out of the two of them, the idiot was at a more disadvantageous position as he had once again run out of darts. He had only been dodging attacks for the past five minutes now.

"We don't have any weapons." The blond pointed out as he flipped out of the way of yet another attack and landed neatly on top a lamppost. It said something about the magician's balancing skills for nailing a move like that and then staying where he was _and_ making it appear effortless at the same time was not a small deal. The idiot had turned to look at Kurogane when he had been speaking and thus had failed to realize the danger he was putting himself in as the kiji's eye widened and a harsh beam of blinding red light shot towards the mage.

"Get down!" was all Kurogane could say but even that warning came too late as the beam hit the blond and knocked him into the wall behind lamppost. The force of the blow knocked down the entire structure, bringing a torrent of bricks at his fallen companion. Kurogane tried not to let the strange feeling of panic bubbling up inside of him overtake him as he jumped in front of the smaller man and assumed a wide stance. Without sparing another thought, he cried the name of his family's technique, cutting through the demon like a hot knife through butter. Once he was sure it would not be getting back up, Kurogane finally turned his attention towards the idiot.

The feeling of panic that he had felt for the blond when the kiji had knocked him down, it was… troubling. He had only ever felt this way about Tomoyo before now. How was it possible for the man that irritated him to no end to suddenly instigate the same feelings inside him?

He felt a wave of relief wash over him when the mage showed signs of life and he pushed away the worry nagging at the back of his mind in favor of other more pressing things.

_"You thought you were there to guide me _

_You were only in my way..._

_You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you…" _

He ached all over but if he had to pick out the where he hurt the worse, Fai would have said his leg. That actually hurt the worse. Ti was almost like that one time he had been balancing on the high-beams in one of the training halls in the castle's lower levels in Celes and had fallen rather badly on his leg. This felt exactly like that time.

He heard Kurogane yell something undecipherable before a brilliant disc of gold light spewed forth from the ninja's sword and cut the kiji in half, doing it in for good. Unfortunately the sword itself did not seem to be strong enough to handle the sheer amount of raw power that had just been channeled through it and crumbled.

"Tch." The warrior made a sound of irritation as he looked down at the hilt for a brief moment, "the sword couldn't handle the power of my special technique. Pity, it broke." He said, inspecting the broken weapon rather closely.

"That's our Kuro-sama." Fai sang, trying to make an attempt at keeping things as normal as possible. This was the first time someone other than Ashura-ou had openly displayed so much concern for him and it was… startling to think that someone actually _cared_ for him even if… even if he told nothing but lies. How could someone care for someone like him? No. _Why_ would someone care for someone like him?

"Your leg okay?" the man asked gruffly, quickly drawing Fai out of his thoughts.

"Looks like I didn't die…" he trailed off. He had been meaning for this to come out as a joke. Something to show the warrior that he was perfectly fine and nothing was wrong and he did not have to worry but… somehow, his words had come out sounding wistful. As though… as though he had wanted nothing more than for an accident such as this one to steal his life from him.

Truth be told, a part of him had always hoped his life might end in that manner. Alas, even death did not want him.

_"You thought you were there to guide me_

_You were only in my way... _

_You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you..." _

Hearing the idiot's response, relief was quickly over-powered by annoyance. He could not help the words that spilled from his lips.

"It's not that you _didn't_ die." He said, pulling out the sheath of his sword and poking the injured man in the leg with it. Sometimes, pain a little pain was good to drive the point home, "it's that you _won't_ die." Ignoring the wince of pain from his companion, he continued, "I won't hold back when fighting an opponent that wants me dead."

The mage lowered his head, no doubt to mask the flicker of pain that shown on his face although unknown to Kurogane it was for an entirely different reason even if hiding it to conceal his pain might have been one of Fai's reasons. "If someone threatens the ones I care about," Kurogane declared fiercely, "I won't hesitate in killing them. I can't remember the exact number of people I have killed," he added, feeling a tiny pang of guilt for not even remembering how many lives he had snuffed out in his thirst for power, "and I have no patience for pretty words but…" he paused for a second, using the sheath to make the blond meet his narrow eyed gaze, "the ones I hate the most are those who give up on their life before all hope is lost."

A tiny flicker of _something_ passed across the magician's face before he hid it all behind a stupid grin, though there was a touch of sadness to it as he said, "that means I'm the type of person you hate the most."

**_A/N: Revamped version of chapter two will be coming up pretty soon as well if all goes well._**


	2. The Cold The Senseless

**_A/N: I realized while rewriting this that there was a lot of unnecessary stuff in her previously so I cut all of that out. But! Its still much better now, if I do say so myself. I hope you enjoy it a lot more now._**

**_P.S. since I kinda moved the chapter I posted last night, the link you guys got in your alerts might not have worked so, click back and check out the first chapter first, okay? ^_^_**

**_Enjoy~_**

The pain was unbearable. Screams wanted to spill from his throat like a never-ending cacophony but Fai would not allow himself to succumb to the urge to do that. There was a lot more at stake here and it was imperative he got his companions to understand the severity of the situation. He… he did not want to be saved by them. Not when… not when the escape was just within his reach.

"Don't…" he begged, despite the agony he was going through, he still managed to gasp that word. He had to tell them. Had to let them know that… "If I continue living, Syaoran-kun's magic also lives…"

They had to understand that he _had_ to die. They had to let him die. It had to end. This pain. This agony. The guilt. The lies. He was tired. Tired of running. Tired of hiding. Tired of lying. He wanted out. And… and here it was. Sweet, sweet escape. They had to let him go. The fact that the stolen eye would be of no use to the clone once he was dead was just an added plus.

"It's only half the power but even that is…" he could not help the tiny whimper that escaped him, "it's too great…" he managed to get out. They had to see. They had to understand. They had to let him go. He had been running away for so long, living the life he had stolen from his brother, doing everything he could to give it back to him but now that he had a chance to meet his beloved brother again, even if it was in death, he wanted to go to him. The only reason he had gone on this journey in the first place had been to reunite with him. With Fai. And here was his chance to go to him.

"You won't be able to stop him…" he told them, knowing it was the truth but also hoping that it would scare them enough into letting him go. He wanted this escape but even now, he did not have the guts to tell them directly. So he resorted to telling little while lies instead of the big lies he had been telling them all along. Lying was what he did best after all.

_"I could be cold, I could be ruthless_

_You know I could be just like you..." _

The meat bun was crying. That was the first time Kurogane had seen the white creature actually shedding any tears but his shock at seeing that was overpowered by the sheer amount of rage he felt for the mage. To want something like that… to actually ask for them to let him… to think that they would…

He did not even feel the pain as his fist slammed into the concrete wall and created a crater at the point of impact, Kurogane pushed away from the wall he had been leaning against while the dimension hopper had been explaining their situation to the Time-Space Witch and heading menacingly towards the pale-faced mage who wanted to fucking die!

"What kind of a person just resigns himself to something like that?!" he growled like a wounded animal. He wanted nothing more than to wring that scrawny little neck and throttle and shake the stupid man into accepting that these self-sacrificing tendencies of his were going to get him killed one day. Never mind that the fool who actually did want to die. Could the bastard not see how much his death would tear them all apart? Was he so… was he so selfish that he could not even try and hold on for all their sakes? The meat bun was crying and yelling for him to stop as he grabbed hold of the magician's collar and bodily lifted him off the bed.

"I'm sorry…" The tiny smile that blond flashed at him when his eyes met the former's told Kurogane all he needed to know about what was going on inside the idiot's head right then. The look in his remaining eye had been so… tired and resigned. There had been longing in there too but then the blond was looking away and Kurogane was left to seethe as he held the smaller man by his collar.

The stupid magician _wanted_ this! Well, Kurogane refused to let him die than. If he was an idiot who had no care for his own life, Kurogane was going to have to knock some sense into him through his actions. They all wanted him there now that the kid had…

"Witch," Kurogane began in a level tone, knowing that the blond might not even appreciate him doing this for him, "you have any way to save him?"

_"I could be weak, I could be senseless_

_You know I could be just like you…"_

"He does not wish to live," the witch replied and Fai felt a wave of relief wash over him. Maybe Yuuko would take his side. Maybe she would let him have the rest he so longed for. Her next words crushed his hope completely though. "you are the one who want to keep him alive…" she paused and Fai still kept on hoping against hope that maybe, the witch might tell the ninja that was an impossible wish or maybe the price for something like that was too high. "so you will have to take responsibility for him."

"What will I have to do?" the ninja asked in that same, indifferent tone of his and Fai wanted to scream that he all he had to do was let him die but he did not even have the energy for something like that. He tried to speak anyways but his efforts were in vain as his mouth refused to obey the command of his brain.

"Become E." the witch's voice drowned out the tiny whimper that formed died somewhere in his throat.

"I understand." The ninja agreed quietly, "I'm willing to pay the price. Just, hand over the blood."

"S-Stop…" he finally managed to get the words out, chest heaving with the effort to draw another breath as the world spun round and round him in circles.

"Shut up!" the tan-skinned man yelled, bringing Fai to his face level as he glared at him, "If you want to die so much, I'll be the one to kill you. But till that time, _live._"

It was at that point that Fai realized no matter what he said or did, this… this stubborn man would never let him die. Not when a pair of vampires were so conveniently at hand to give their blood and save his life. Never mind the fact that he would be turned into a monster himself but… so long as that kept him alive, the ninja was going to go through with it. Accepting his fate and knowing that the sweet escape he had wanted so much would be snatched away from him right when it was within his grasp, Fai let his head hang in defeat. It was no use.

He heard one of the vampires instructing the warrior to hold out his arm after the man had let go of Fai. He was too weakened by the blood-loss to be actually aware of what was going on above him but the minute the drops of blood hit his tongue, his entire world exploded.

_"You thought you were sittin beside me_

_You were only in my way... _

_You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you..."_

The metallic taste exploded across his tongue as his stomach twisted into such agonizing knots that the screams that had been locked inside his throat finally broke free. His eye snapped open, entire body arching off the bed in a painfully impossible manner before the pain vanished as though a switch had just been flipped. Panting heavily, he wondered if it was over but then his insides were being torn apart bit by tiny bit and he was screaming and writhing and oh God! It hurt so much. Something make it stop. Make it go away. He never even wanted this so why was he in so much pain? Hadn't he been trying to help Syaoran back in the reservoir of water when it had all begun?

He should have known things would never be okay for him but…. Oh God! Make it stop! Make it stop! Too much! Too Much! Why was he even awake for all of this? Could he have not passed out? _Why_ had he not passed out!? Strong hands gripped his shoulders, pressing him down on the bed though he was not even aware of it. His entire world was consumed by burning fire now licking the insides of his veins

_ "You thought you were there to guide me_

_You were only in my way..._

_You're wrong if you think that I'll be just like you…"_

Slowly the thick haze of pain began to recede. _Now_, it was over. He had never even realized he had been hanging on to the ninja like a drowning man catching at straws when left adrift at sea. Putting in some conscious effort, he tried to let go of the ninja, realizing for the first time that his nails had elongated into wicked claws.

_Monster!_ He was a monster. Completely pulling away and trying to support his weight on shaky arms he tilted his head to catch a glimpse of the man responsible for what he had now become. Monster! Monster! He was a monster. He had been one on the inside all along but now… now he was one on the outside too.

Remorseless crimson eyes steadily met his narrow-eyed stare. He did not regret it. Kurogane did not regret all the agony he had just put him through and he sure as hell did not regret seeing the horrendous creature Fai had become. His gaze was as cold and as hard as ever, causing hatred to bubble up inside Fai, moving and taking hold of him till it consumed him. He had been so close. So close to gaining his freedom. So close to reuniting with Fai but this… this _man_ had taken that from him. Chosen to turn him into a monster instead.

'I won't ever forgive you for this…' he wanted to say but no words ever escaped his lips as exhaustion finally caught up with his body and he slumped on his side.

_"On my own...cuz I can't take living with you..._

_I'm alone...so I won't turn out like you want me to…"_

He was thrown back into his body with a jolt, a single eye snapping open to show the monster inhabiting that body before Fai was able to take control of it as he sat upright. Memories of what had happened before he had passed out flashed through his mind, causing him to subconsciously clench his fists.

_Monster! _

Pushing away the vicious voice that whispered that word in his ear, Fai focused on his surroundings, realizing for the first time how he the world had suddenly become so much… more. The colors, the sounds, the smells… Oh God! That smell. That powerful tangy scent of blood. He had to work rather hard to control as the monster struggled to rise to the surface. The sound of the other man's heart, beating a strong steady rhythm inside his ribcage gave Fai something else to focus on, not that it was any better than being able to smell the other man's blood so vividly and actually _thirst_ for it.

"Good Morning," he turned to the man with a cheerful smile plastered on his face, realizing that he had been the one at fault all along. The mask he wore now was brittle, even more fragile than all that precious china they had seen in an antique store display window in that virtual reality world. Outo that had been called. The smallest of actions could shatter the control with which he was keeping it all locked up inside of him. knowing he did not want the other to push him any further, not after what allowing the other man into his life in the first place had done. What allowing all of them to become someone important to him had done, Fai decided on what he had to do. So he opened his mouth and uttered just one last word. "Kurogane."


	3. Just Like You

**_A/N: These are the lyrics of the song that actually made me think it was perfect for Fai and Kurogane so I decided to write tiny drabbles following each line. _**

_"I could be mean, I could be angry"_

Fai swirled the drink, watching the amber liquid slosh inside the glass as he cast a sidelong glance at his red-eyed companion. The ninja seemed to be watching him closely, a frown settled on his face as though trying to figure out a difficult puzzle but not quite getting the trick to solving it completely. Flashing him a grin, the blond turned his attention back to the singer on stage.

The ninja despite his grumpiness, short-temper and all over impatience for those who did not care much for the impact they had on others, was a decent man. A good man even. He had morals. A strong sense of righteousness. Honor. Something Fai lacked so much it wasn't even funny. But even so… he wondered if things had been different, could he have ended up like him?

_"I could be fake, I could be stupid"_

The mage pretended not to notice his eyes on him, choosing instead to fixate a plastic grin on his face as he stared rather determinedly at the woman singing on stage. The man pretended to be an airhead, a man with no intelligence whatsoever. After all, no one ever paid any mind to the fools. But there were so many times that Kurogane had caught a glimpse of the sharp mind that resided behind those sparkling blue eyes. Sometimes when the mage thought no one was looking, he would let his foolish façade drop and Kurogane would play witness to a facet of the magician's personality none of their companions ever noticed.

The worried frowns whenever the princess collapsed, the tiny, genuine smiles he flashed at the kids and the manju bun occasionally, not even realizing he was doing it at times… the man was complex as hell but underneath all those layers he used to shield himself from the world, Kurogane could tell there was a broken, damaged man. Sometimes, when he would be drinking alone, he would wonder that had their circumstances been reversed, could he ever have turned out like him?

_"I could be cold, I could be ruthless"_

Giving the warrior an icy smile, the blond pulled out his weapon, slamming on a mask so thick and solid not even a raging bullhorn would have been able to scratch it. He was the one at fault all along. He had been wrong in the way he had treated these people he travelled with but now he had realized his mistake. He knew what he had to do. Showing no remorse whatsoever, Fai cut through the men like a chef would chop vegetables. Blood rained down all around them, bathing them in red, brining out his vampiric eye as his claws elongated and he threw the weapon way in favor of using his claws to cut through their enemies instead.

When the battle was finally over, he sheathed the claws, not even sparing a glance at the ninja as he reclaimed the feather from the cold, dead fingers of that world's greedy ruler. This new, cruel and inhuman monster that he was… it wasn't all that different from the man his companion had been before his banishment, was he?

_"I could be weak, I could be senseless"_

Kurogane did not know why he did it. Almost jumping in front of that speeding train and all because… why had he even _thought_ about doing something like that? What had possessed him to act so… so pathetically? He could not even believe he had tried to take his own life. He was lucky he was so drunk he had tripped and fallen flat on his face on the wrong side of the train tracks, the metal monster whipping by him with a sharp whistle. Groaning as he struggled to stand back up, Kurogane tried to make sense of just what the heck was he even doing here?

That had never been him. No. He had been the proud warrior from Nihon, afraid of no one and stronger than everyone. So then why was he here, lying on gravel like shivering mess, covered in his own sick and unable to even pick himself up. This drunken fool that had just tried to commit suicide, that wasn't him… was it?

_"You know I could be just like you…"_

They were like night and day, fire and ice, so different it wasn't even funny yet they were also the same. Two sides of the same coin. Always on the opposing sides but always attached to the other. Despite all their differences, the Warrior from Nihon and the Magician from Celes, they were more alike than they could possibly ever know.


End file.
